


World's Worst Boss

by cinnamon_lyons



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Casual Sex, Harrison Wells is a Jerk, Hero Worship, M/M, POV Hartley Rathaway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 19:18:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10905774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinnamon_lyons/pseuds/cinnamon_lyons
Summary: A slightly re-imagined version of Hartley's firing from STAR Labs. Because the other version was just made safe for TV, right?





	World's Worst Boss

Hartley Rathaway rolled over onto his back amid the rumpled sheets, still panting slightly. He put his hands behind his head, resting back against the wall, as relaxed as he ever felt these days. Sex helped. It always helped.

“Man, I needed that!” His partner, a round-faced Latino in his early twenties with dark hair cropped short, grinned amiably at Hartley. “It’s been a hell of a week.”

Hartley had met the man over a mojito or two that evening at Los Amigos. What was his name again? José? Or was it Juan? No, it was definitely José. José had already been drunk when Hartley got to the bar, and it hadn’t taken much persuasion to get him home and into bed. He seemed to have sobered up a little after what had been a lengthy, and often strenuous, bout of bedroom Olympics.

The corner of Hartley’s mouth twitched. He rather bet José’s week had been nothing like as hellish as his own.

“Why’s that?” He asked lazily. Not that he cared what had happened to José. But it was a way to pass the time. Which was all he seemed to be doing these days, now he no longer had a job. With Hartley's brilliance, being unemployed really rankled. It hinted at failure, at not being the best. Other people were unemployed. Not Hartley Rathaway.

José shrugged, reaching into a bedside drawer for some rizlas and a bag of hash.

“My boss has really been up my ass.” He said companionably as he started to roll a joint. “I should quit, but it’s easy money. I mean, frying chicken ain’t hard, right? The shifts fit in 'round my band, so why cause trouble?” He shook his head, a note of irritation creeping into his voice. “And then we get this new boss and he’s somehow got it into his head I’m lazy. He’s been riding me all month, but this week he went too fucking far.” He scowled, raising the paper to his mouth to lick the edge, sealing it with practised fingers.

Hartley rolled his eyes. This was more than he needed to know. "Do tell me what happened. After all, I only had sex with you to find out more about your pathetic life." José completely ignored Hartley's cynicism, concentrating on lighting the joint before answering, drawing on it twice before passing it to Hartley, who accepted with a shrug. It looked like he was in for the ride.

“He accused me of putting my fingers in the till, man! _Twice._ In front of the whole team the second time. I ain’t no fucking thief! He made me empty my bag, empty my pockets, all the time standing over me like he’s a fucking cop. And when he didn’t find anything? He didn’t even apologise, man! He just sniffs, and says something like, “Well, I guess you’re lucky _this_ time.” And then he walks out. Fucking ass!”

José’s voice had risen in anger during his tale, and Hartley passed him the joint without a word. The man took another toke, and then he turned his face to Hartley.

“What makes them think they can get away with it? Give a man a bit of power and he just wants to step all over everyone! Worst boss I’ve ever had.” Hartley snorted.

“I’ve had worse, believe me.”

“Yeah? Okay, make me feel better. Tell me your worst boss story.” José looked genuinely interested. Hartley considered him for a moment. While he had the mother of all worst boss stories, he hadn’t really figured on opening up to a one night stand. But what the hell, maybe it was easier to tell the story than have it gnaw away at him, every moment of every day. And it wasn’t like he could tell anyone at STAR Labs – even if he’d had any friends there other than Harrison in the first place. And since he'd already been forced to sit through José's sob story, it was only fair he get to unload too.

“I’m a physicist. It’s a bit more complicated than frying chicken, so do stop me if you can’t keep up.” José chose to take that as a joke, so Hartley went on. “For three years I worked in the same lab. I was good at my job, so good that I was soon heading up my own team for special projects. My boss appreciated brilliance, and he encouraged me. He was my mentor.” Hartley chewed his lip, a slight wistfulness showing through his acerbic tones. “My parents disowned me. I guess, in some ways, he became a father to me.”

“A father? Or something more?” José was treating Hartley’s tale like a faintly amusing soap opera. Hartley would have been irritated, but actually the man’s slightly mocking tone made it easier to tell the story. He pulled a face.

“So maybe I’m twisted. I worshipped him. And he was hot. I had quite a few fantasies where he came up with a variety of kinky ways to show his appreciation of my talents but, I’m sad to say, they were only fantasies.”

José sat up a little straighter, the sheet pulling up around his knees, resting his elbows on them. He looked intrigued.

“You remember this was supposed to be about the worst boss ever, right? Not about working for some buff Mr Miyagi dude!” He grinned widely and Hartley actually laughed, although as always there was a hint of bitterness in it.

“A little over a week ago, I discovered a flaw in our current project. A risk that something would go wrong if we put it into operation. He told me he’d look at it, asked me not to say anything to anyone else, and that was that. I trusted him implicitly.” Hartley chewed his lip slightly. “The next day he asked me to come to his office. That was unusual. The lab was quite open – glass partitions and open working spaces - and usually we talked out in the open."

“But still, I figured he wanted to talk about the flaw. Work it through together, as we had done so many things. Obviously we needed a bit of privacy to do that. And I was his guy, right? Who else would he talk to? When I walked into the office, he was standing by the chessboard. Now I come to think of it, he was holding one of the pawns. Arrogant bastard!” Hartley glowered a little, but this time when he paused José didn’t interrupt, gazing intently at Hartley until he continued.

“All the blinds were drawn, so the office seemed darker, secretive somehow. He put the chess piece down, and turned to look at me. He has these incredible cold blue eyes – piercing, really - and he just stared at me for a moment. I almost shivered, and then he broke the silence by asking me to close the door. I did, of course, and came a few steps into the room."

‘I’ve had some thoughts about our schematics,’ I told him purposefully, ‘I don’t think it should set us back too far if we-‘

He waved a hand to shut me up.

‘That’s not why I asked you in here, Hartley.’

‘Then what?’ I was frowning at him, not understanding at all. He took a few steps closer to me, and maybe I should have noticed something different about the look on his face, but I really didn’t see it coming. I was standing next to a row of cupboards, and the next thing I knew he’d grabbed my shoulders and shoved me back against them. I was so surprised I may even have squeaked. I think I just about managed to ask what he was doing. He said, ‘Something I should have done a long time ago.’ And then he kissed me.” Hartley closed his eyes for a second. He could still enjoy that moment, in a way, the memory of all his fantasies finally coming true. “I think I was too shocked even to respond for a minute. I could feel the warmth of his fingers on the back of my neck, his lips against mine, his tongue in my mouth and I just stood there, frozen, thinking, ‘Shit! This is everything I ever wanted!’” Hartley shook his head, a bitter taste in his mouth, as if he’d really just kissed Harrison Wells.

“How was I to know it was a fucking Judas kiss?” He sighed. “I kissed him back, of course, once I’d recovered from the surprise. I slid my hands round behind his back, over his ass – well, for a long time I’d been desperate to grab that ass! He was holding me by both shoulders again, pinning me back against the cupboards. He was stronger than I’d expected him to be – I got a hand inside his shirt at one point and he was _built_! That really turned me on. Thinking that now I knew more about him than anyone else. I was his guy, after all. I knew what was under his clothes. Knew that his cock was straining at his trousers, pressed against me, and I jerked my hips, rubbing against him."

“In my fantasies he’d always taken charge but this, this was something else! His fingers stayed gripping my shoulders as he stepped back, almost dragging me over to a table on the far side where we used to play chess. He shoved the chess board aside with one hand, scattering the pieces across the floor. I didn’t appreciate the symbolism at the time. I didn’t even care. I wanted to get laid, and fast. And Har- _he_ wasn’t going to disappoint me in that.” Hartley swallowed. He’d got so carried away in his tale he forgot it was supposed to be anonymous! He paused for a second, and then went on.

“He shoved me face first over the table, and the next moment I felt his hands underneath me, scrabbling with my belt and then my fly, before he yanked my pants down to my knees. I bit my lip, still barely able to believe this was really happening. He must have lubed himself up, though he didn’t really bother with foreplay. It was rough and ready – and that was fucking hot, actually, because it was illicit. I was there, bent over a table in the lab, where anyone could walk in – the door wasn’t locked, after all – and find the boss deep inside me!” Hartley closed his eyes, sighing a little. “And when he fucked me, it was fast and furious and urgent and I was fucking delirious for a moment…"

"But it was over so quickly. He was holding onto my hips, and when his fingers dug in and he let out this hissing sigh I knew he was coming and I wasn’t even nearly there… But the next moment he’d withdrawn. I heard him zip his pants, and I was still there, bent over the table, my cock stiff as anything beneath me. Well, it’s only the first time, I told myself, but I stood up, turning to face him."

“He was dressed again, wiping his hands with a handkerchief. He raised an eyebrow, and that made me mad."

‘Hey, I’m not done yet!’ I told him. And he actually laughed at that.

‘Oh yes you are, Hartley.’

‘What do you mean?’ I knew something was wrong, but I still didn’t see it coming.

‘You’re done. Finished. Terminated.’

“What?” I still couldn’t believe it. I stood there staring at him, mouth open, pants still around my knees. His cum was starting to trickle down the inside of my leg – the bastard didn’t even use a condom, which shows you how much I fucking adored him, I’m not into bare-backing.” Hartley swallowed hard.

“There was no emotion in his voice. He started to clean his glasses, as casually as if he’d just beaten me at chess.

‘You have an hour to clear your things before security escorts you from the building.’

‘You’re _firing_ me? You just fucked me and now you’re _firing_ me?’

‘It would appear that way, yes.’ The corner of his mouth tilted up, just slightly. ‘I’ve been considering this carefully, since you told me about the flaw. I’ve decided it’s worth the risk.’

“So that was the endgame. He’d played me all along and I hadn’t seen it coming. I got angry then. I told him I’d make the story public, that I wouldn’t risk people’s lives.” Hartley closed his eyes. He well remembered Harrison’s reply. It had sounded like a carefully rehearsed threat. ‘If you breathe any word of unsubstantiated accusation…’ Hartley shivered. He didn’t want to say it aloud. It was a reminder that the whole thing had been planned well before he stepped foot in Harrison Wells’ office.

“He threatened me.” Hartley glossed over the episode. “Which is why the story stays anonymous, as little as that creep deserves it.”

“Woah!” José’s mouth was open. “Dude, that is _fucked up_! You should have him up on sexual harassment charges!” Hartley snorted.

“I can’t touch him. You know what you said about men in power? Well, for a time I thought I was up there with him.” Hartley shook his head angrily. Now, he had no way of even being sure for how long Harrison had been playing him. He smiled bitterly. "I'll find a way to get him back."

Hartley felt a hand on his chest. He turned to look at José, whose eyes were glistening. "Sounds like a shitty thing to happen, but man, I gotta say that story was  _hot_!" Hartley snorted.

"Ready for round two, then?" He managed a grin, though, leaning in to José, hand on the other man's shoulder as their lips met.

Harrison Wells might have fucked up his life. But sex would help. Sex always helped.


End file.
